Jerry Brown vetoes bills to help men change baby diapers

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed two bills Friday that would have made baby-changing stations more accessible to men in public places.

SB 1358 from state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would have required buildings owned by a state or local agency, as well as public venues such as restaurants, movie theaters and grocery stores, to provide at least one diaper-changing table available to both women and men.

SB 1350 from Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, took a narrower approach, requiring businesses that install a diaper-changing station in the future to make it available to both sexes.

Both bills passed through the Legislature with strong bipartisan support.

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In identical veto messages, Brown called the wider availability of baby-changing tables “a good business practice, but not one that I am inclined to legislate.”

“At a time when so many have raised concerns about the number of regulations in California, I believe it would be more prudent to leave the matter of diaper changing stations to the private sector,” he wrote. “Already, many businesses have taken steps to accommodate their customers in this regard.”